自我馴化
Cats are kept all over the world as pets.
世界各地都有人養貓作寵物。
pet(n.)(v.)寵物、寵兒、撫摸
However, these furry friends did not always live in people’s homes, playing with string, chasing mice and scratching furniture.
然而，這些毛小孩並不總是住在人們的家中，玩弄線團、追逐老鼠和抓撓家具。
fur(n.)皮毛furry(adj.)毛茸茸的scratch(v.)抓、騷scratch beneath the surface透過表面觀察更深入了解
Cats — as they are known today — began as wild animals thousands of years ago in Asia, Europe and Africa.
貓——就像今天大家所知的那樣——是數千年前起源於亞洲、歐洲和非洲的野生動物。
known(adj.)熟知的thousands of數以千計的
Over time, as people began to farm more crops, rodents moved closer to humans to find food.
隨著時間的推移，人們開始種植更多的農作物，嚙齒動物也開始靠近人類找尋食物。
over time隨著時間經過、漸漸地=gradually=with time=in a long haulcrops(n.)農作物rodent(n.)嚙齒動物mammal(n.)哺乳類動物primate(n.)靈長類動物
Being meat-eaters, the ancestors of today’s pet cats also started to live near farms to hunt mice and rats for their meals.
由於是肉食動物，現今寵物貓的祖先也開始住在農場附近，獵捕大小老鼠作為食物。
meat-eater(n.)肉食性動物=carnivoreherbivore(n.)草食性動物ancestor(n.)祖先、祖宗
Therefore, cats began to tame themselves without direct help from people, soon becoming popular as pets on farms, in houses and on ships.
因此，貓開始在沒有人類直接幫助的情況下自我馴化，很快地成為農場、住宅和船上的寵物。
tame(v.)(adj.)馴化、柔順的
In all of these places, cats used their hunting skills to kill pests and protect humans’ food.
在所有這些地方，貓都利用牠們的狩獵技能來殺死害蟲，保護人類的食物。
hunting skills狩獵技能pest(n.)害蟲
Now, there are more than 60 breeds of cats that are kept as pets.
現在，作為寵物飼養的貓有60多個品種。
breed(n.)品種
The main differences among them are the markings on their fur and whether they have short hair or long hair — or, in some cases, no hair.
牠們之間的主要區別在於毛皮上的斑紋，以及牠們是短毛或長毛——在某些情況下甚至是無毛的。
among(prep.)在～其中differ in在～不同marking(n.)斑紋whether(conj.)是否
Despite their new lives as pets though, modern cats are still good hunters because their DNA is not very different from wild cats.
儘管現在過著寵物的生活，但現代貓仍然是出色的獵手，因為牠們的DNA與野貓的差異不大。
despite(prep.)儘管=in spite ofbe different from跟～不同the same as跟～相同
This might explain why cats are very independent pets that can make owners happy with their company but can also take care of themselves if necessary.
這也許可以解釋為什麼貓是非常獨立的寵物，可以陪伴主人，讓主人感到快樂，但在必要時也能照顧好自己。
independent(adj.)獨立的=self-sufficient=self-reliantindependence(n.)獨立性dependent(adj.)需供養的company(n.)陪伴if necessary如果有必要